Wind Rises 2005

Chapter 389

United States, California, San Francisco, No. 795 Folsom Street.

A standard six-story office building appeared in front of Jennifer. This is Twitter's new office, and only one floor is rented for the time being.

Today's Twitter has a total of only 50 to [-] employees.

But such a small company that couldn't be smaller has recently become the hottest star company in the American venture capital circle.

Unlike traditional technology companies, Twitter did not choose to start a business in Silicon Valley.

Perhaps the amazing performance at the SXSW carnival caused the project to be sought after by countless investors, and several founders were a little bit flustered.

It was a waste of money to actually put the office in the bustling city center of San Francisco.

At least from Jennifer's point of view, Twitter is a bit flamboyant as a start-up company, and it doesn't take the boss's money seriously.

As the executive president of [Gale Capital] New York branch, it is necessary for her to remind the other party.

Of course, this is not the purpose of her coming to San Francisco today.

The reason why she made a special trip was to negotiate for Twitter's next round of financing, and this time she was determined to win.

After all, this is the first mission, and the Pre-A round of investment is just a small case.

Confident, Jennifer walked all the way to the third floor and walked straight into Twitter's new office.

But as soon as she, a blond, blue-eyed, hot Office girl, showed up, the eyeballs of those technical nerds at Twitter almost popped out.

Jennifer reported her identity to the front desk, and the CEO of Twitter came out after a while.

"Ms. Jennifer, welcome, everyone is waiting for you in the conference room." Jack Dorsey greeted very politely.

He must be polite, because standing behind this sexy girl is Twitter's angel investor - Ma Liang.

Jennifer followed Jack Dorsey to the small conference room, and when she looked up, she saw the other two partners of Twitter, Evan Williams and Biz Stone.

"My dear, please allow me to praise you.

I really didn't expect Mr. Ma Liang's spokesperson to be such a beautiful lady as you. "Ewan Williams spoke very casually.

After all, he is not only a veteran entrepreneur, but also an angel investor, so he naturally has the confidence to speak.

Jennifer responded politely: "Mr. Ivan, I have also heard your name for a long time.

We don't need to brag about each other, let's hurry up and talk about business, and I will make an appointment to talk about a business project later. "

"OK, then let's get straight to the point!" Ivan Williams readily agreed, "Twitter's next round of financing is almost done, and the initial valuation is 2000 million U.S. dollars."

Jennifer sat down casually, took out a mini notebook she carried with her, and turned to the page she wrote before she came.

Ignoring the expressions of the big three on Twitter, she read it unhurriedly: "Valuation is not a problem, the key is the amount of financing.

Before coming here, BOSS explained that he is optimistic about Twitter for a long time, and follow-up financing will follow up.

Therefore, in this round of financing, [Gale Capital] will continue to invest 200 million US dollars, and the remaining amount can be raised from other investors. "

"What? Two million dollars?" Jack Dorsey was startled, he hadn't expected this at all.

The big three have discussed before, and this round is going to raise 500 million US dollars.

At first, everyone thought that Ma Liang would invest another 100 million US dollars at most to survive, but now the amount of 100 million is inexplicably reduced, which makes the three founders a little passive.

After all, some well-connected investors have been promised to buy shares, so how to explain to others.

Jennifer insisted with a serious face: "[Great Wind Capital] has the priority investment right, which has been agreed in the previous investment agreement.

Of course, out of my personal suggestion, it is better not to sell too many shares in this round.

After all, referring to Facebook’s financing history, you can think about it, the next round of financing will not be too far away.

If you sell too much, the three founders will lose the most. "

When it comes to Facebook, Ivan, Jack and Biz feel a burst of enthusiasm, and it is impossible not to be envious.

People's financing is like riding a rocket.

Today, Twitter’s user development speed is no less than that of Facebook in the early days. It would be great if it could also raise funds at that speed.

You must know that after Facebook experienced angel financing of 50 US dollars, it directly entered the A round of financing in one step.

And the total amount of financing is as high as 1270 million US dollars, which is a joy.

Although Twitter is also sought after by capital, it is not so amazing because Facebook, the current social king, specializes in beauty.

So several people discussed it, and this round of financing is going to be raised according to 500 million US dollars.

And the talks with a group of investors went very smoothly, just waiting for [Gale Capital] to sign.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Ma Liang's beautiful spokesperson came, there would be troubles.

"But we've already promised several investors, it's not good to break the contract!" Jack Dorsey said entangled.

Jennifer smiled slightly and replied easily: "So what, just drag it on.

You can put all the blame on [Gale Capital], saying that we have never agreed to start the next round of financing so quickly.

Then secretly hold the 200 million US dollars and develop steadily for a period of time.

For the next round of financing, I suggest starting with 2000 million US dollars, otherwise it will be meaningless for you to dilute too many shares in advance.

Besides, isn’t it normal to regret in the investment and financing process?

It is entirely possible to declare to the outside world that some investment institutions have offered a higher price, so Twitter is ready to wait and see. "

After saying this, Jennifer watched the three founders playfully and smiled without saying a word.

She is very confident that she can convince them. After all, no one can resist the temptation of profit. The longer Twitter’s financing is pushed back, the less sacrifice they will make as founders.

The most important thing is that before coming here, the BOSS has ordered that the ambivalence between the three Twitter partners can be used to achieve the appeal.

"What Jennifer said makes sense, and I think it's feasible." Biz Stone responded first.

He, the co-founder, has the least shares and is naturally the one who doesn't want to be diluted too much.

Jack Dorsey did not respond impulsively, but turned his head to look at Ivan Williams. After all, among the three partners, he is the only one with the most experience in dealing with capital.

Ivan also knew the elegant meaning after hearing the strings, and immediately responded: "It's not impossible.
It’s just that in this way, Twitter’s next round of financing must be completed before the end of the year, otherwise our reputation will be stink. "

"By the end of the year? That's not realistic!" Jack Dorsey yelled.

As the CEO, he is now very aware of the high requirements required for the two rounds of financing to be so close. At least Twitter's operating data by the end of the year will be three or four times higher than it is now.

These programmers in the company must be crazy, don't they have to work overtime every night.

Jennifer gave the three of them a cold look, and her eyes suddenly became sharp: "With all due respect, if you want to realize your dream of wealth, you should throw away those little thoughts.

Twitter is not the only social platform on the market, and Facebook, a powerful competitor, stands in front of it.

You are not just fighting yourselves, but also consider the situation of the enemy.

Based on my experience working on Wall Street for so many years, if Twitter cannot catch up with Facebook in a short period of time, it will fall into a huge financial crisis within a few years.

Capital always likes leading companies. Whoever becomes the king of social networking will never lack funds in their accounts.

As for the second and third children, let's take advantage of the wash and sleep!

If you can't become the king of social networking, it will be more difficult to raise funds in the future. After all, the capitalists in the previous rounds have to withdraw round by round.

Not every investor will accompany Twitter to the end like 【Gale Capital】.

If the follow-up financing is not effective, then Twitter will inevitably lose out in the competition with Facebook.

So if you want to make money easily, how is it possible? "

Jennifer's words were resounding, even with a hint of decisiveness, which was also learned from working on Wall Street for many years.

She doesn't want to see Twitter, which started so well, be ruined by the three founders.

I still want to make Twitter a classic case in my career, so my words are not polite at all.

(End of this chapter)